Everything Happens Twice A Romione fan fiction
by Mate-4-Life
Summary: Welcome to Harry and Co's 6th year. We start with a quidditch match and then let the future unfold. PLEASE FORGET THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE 6TH YEAR APART FROM THE ONES MENTIONED!
1. Chapter 1

**Dedicated to Emma Watson.**

**HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY!**

His broom span over his head, and he fell to the ground, hitting the ground with his head first. His body coiled on top of him, he blinked up at the sky, flexing his neck.

'RON!' Hermione yelled to him from across the quidditch pitch. She ran to his side and fell to her knees.

'Hermione' he groaned from the floor, still slightly winded.

'Ron, are you okay?' Hermione asked shocked

'Of course I'm okay Hermione' he said 'get off the pitch, if I'm allowed I need to get back in front of the hoops.' Hermione helped pull him to his feet, and ran off to the stands looking worried. Ron went to talk to the umpire. In no time he was back in front of the goal hoops.

Goal after goal flew into each group of hoops; the roars of the crowd were almost deafening every couple of minutes. Eventually the seekers were flying and the goals ceased to look as easy as they had done when everyone was concentrating on the seekers successes. The Gryffindor team however managed to pass the quaffle through the hoops many times while the Ravenclaw keeper was distracted. The score for Gryffindor rose quickly,

'60, 70, 80, 230 points to Gryffindor! What a shame, the nargles were hoping on a party in Ravenc-' Luna called through the commentator's microphone as Harry caught the snitch in the middle of a spectacular dive.

'Miss Lovegood will you please keep to the game?' McGonagall's voice boomed interrupting her

'Yes miss' Luna's voice said 'I was just stating how upset the nar-'

'Miss Lovegood'

'Sorry miss. Well done Harry for his catch there, Gryffindor win' then moving slightly away from the magical microphone muttered 'who's going to tell the nargles?'

Hermione ran back down onto the pitch and flung her arms around Harry, Ginny and Ron in turn.

'Well done, both of you' she grinned

'PARTY IN THE COMMON ROOM!!' one of the team members yelled from inside a huddle of people nearby.

'I think it's time for us to visit the kitchens' Harry told Ginny noticing Hermione now fussing over Ron.

'Yeah' she replied 'but one moment, Dean's coming'

'Never mind, I'll go alone' Harry told her retreating quickly towards the changing rooms.

x.X.x With Hermione and Ron x.X.x

Hermione already had her arms back around Ron's neck; he struggled slightly to let air into his throat but hugged her back warmly.

'You were so brave going back up there' Hermione said 'you could have been seriously injured!'

'Hermione, I'm fine' Ron told her trying to avoid swallowing her hair, 'look I can do a little dance' Ron pulled away from her and jerked about oddly

'No need, no need' Hermione told him laughing, Ron took Hermione's hand and span her on the pitch unexpectedly so she fell down. Ron helped her up

'Sorry' he said embarrassedly, they turned around to find Ginny and Dean behind them; dean had his arm around Ginny. Ron's eyes shot to his hand on Ginny's waist and Dean removed it quickly.

'Don't bother Dean; he's a big boy he can deal with it' Ginny told him sharply, taking his hand and wrapping it around her again. Ron went red with anger and Ginny quickly changed the subject 'are you two twinkle toes coming to the party?'

'Yeah, of course' Ron said 'uh, where's Harry?'

'He went to get food for everyone' Ginny told him now leaving with Dean. Ron and Hermione followed them.

It didn't take long to get everybody hyped up and in the party mood; as usual Ron, Harry and Hermione were sat beside the fire but being bombarded with food and praise from the other house members.

'You were both great'

'That catch was great Harry!'

'Ron you were fantastic today'

Hermione caught sight of Ginny and Dean dancing to the music in the far corner of the common room,

'Ron' she began, speaking loudly over the noise

'yeah?' he asked

'I was wondering, would you wanted to-' Hermione continued, they were interrupted by Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil coming over to congratulate the boys, Parvati went to Ron first congratulating him particularly on one save he made half way through the game, while Harry was praised for his final dive by Lavender quickly, then they switched people. Lavender sat next to Ron on the sofa,

'you were _fantastic_ today Ron' Lavender told him her eyes wide on her head as she tried to get eye contact with him, 'would you like to dance?'

'sure' Ron grinned 'one second' he turned to Hermione 'what were you saying Hermione?'

'it's nothing' she told him looking disheartened, Ron left with Lavender. Hermione looked at Harry to notice he was looking at Ginny and Dean in the corner. 'why don't you ask her to dance?' Hermione asked him, Harry turned to look at her shocked that she had noticed.

'she's busy' Harry told her quickly, pretending to not be interested. Behind him the pair stopped dancing and Dean left Ginny to sit down alone.

'she's not anymore' Hermione told Harry, he looked around at her.

'forget it' he said, 'Dean will be back any minute'

'GINNY!' Hermione called across the common room, forcing Harry's face to turn Scarlet. Ginny came over.

'Hi guys' she greeted happily 'what's up?'

'Harry wants to-'

'thanks Hermione' Harry said angrily 'would you like to dance?' he added to Ginny, blushing furiously

'sorry Harry, Dean's just gone to get us both a drink, maybe later?' she offered looking slightly unhappy at the response she felt she had to give him.

'ok, no problem, fine' Harry stuttered 'Dean's back' he told her, she left them alone and Harry turned to Hermione but didn't have the heart to get angry at her.

'sorry Harry' she said as he slumped back into his chair. He ignored her and she turned to look at Lavender and Ron.

x.X.x with Lavender and Ron x.X.x

Lavender stepped closer to Ron as they danced. Ron looked down at her, smiling uncomfortably.

'what's wrong?' she asked staring into his eyes

'nothing' Ron said looking away from her gaze.

'Ron, do you think I'm pretty?' she asked him taking hold of his cheek and turning it to face her,

'yeah, of course' Ron told her quickly 'why, why would you ask that?' Lavender looked at her feet marching to the beat in front of Ron's reasonably larger ones.

'Ron would you… I mean would you ever consider… would you like to go out with me?'

'oh… uh' Ron began, at that moment to younger year kids stumbled beside them, they went flying into Ron's and Lavender's legs knocking them both to the ground. Parvati Patil who had been sitting alone rushed over to see if Lavender was okay, Hermione jumped up to help Ron to his feet. In the commotion that Lavender and Parvati caused with the younger pair Ron and Hermione managed to slip away.

'does that mean I get a go now?' Hermione joked to Ron,

'huh?'

'I mean, umm, could I possibly dance with you now?' Hermione asked

'sure' Ron said, moving further away from Lavender to find a space suitable for Hermione and himself to dance. Katie Bell suddenly changed the song to something with a slower, quieter beat. Ron looked up at her as she went back to a 7th year boy, Hermione looked up at Ron. They both smiled at each other and began to dance,

'do you remember this song Ron?' Hermione asked him

'of course, how could I forget' he answered. It was the first song they had ever danced to together. They swayed to the music, both remembering times that they had shared.

'do you ever wonder if we made the wrong decision, breaking up?' Hermione asked

'all the time' Ron said 'what about you?'

'I've never wanted to be without you' Hermione answered, she stopped dancing and looked at Ron. Losing all self control she tiptoed to his level and put her lips against his, she kissed him quickly but passionately, then suddenly realising what she had done she stepped back from him. Ron took her waist and pulled her back to him, he lifted her and returned the kiss, now deeper and more passionate, as if he had been waiting to do so for his entire lifetime.

On the other side of the common room Lavender who had finished arguing with the younger children dissolved onto the floor in tears as she watched. Harry on the other hand had been watching Ginny and Dean but as he caught the sight of Ron and Hermione in the corner of his eye he turned and groaned, it was happening again.


	2. Chapter 2

It took 5 minutes of passionate kissing for Ron and Hermione to break apart; neither was entirely sure what had just happened between them. They looked around at the common room quickly, seeing a mixture of 2 main very different expressions, one of grief, the other of happiness. Each of these expressions was shown clearest on their closest friends' faces. Clearly there were some mixed views of what had just happened. Both balanced on a tight-rope. Neither knew how they felt or how the person opposite them felt. A deadly silence struck each of their ears, though the music couldn't have been louder. Hermione felt she had to break the deafening silence; she opened her mouth ready to talk but the only noise that came was a squeal, the common room exploded into what seemed to the pair, silent laughter. Ron tried to take over the conversation, but came out with a growl, more silent laughter followed.

'w-w-w-we-we' Ron began in an extremely deep voice; simultaneously they attempted to clear their throats but found larger rocks to replace the previous, boulders. In the corner of Hermione's eye she saw one of the older girls call to them, but she never heard what she said. Everyone else however heard

'HEY GUYS! STOP TALKING TROLL AND GIVE US A SHOW!! COME ON!!'

Both of the pair continued to stare at each other, steadily getting paler and paler. Ron however managed to bark in an even deeper voice than before

'Hermione, we've been here before' Hermione nodded slowly still unable to talk. 'Do you think it's the best thing to do?' he asked deeply

'YES!! RON I STILL LOVE YOU!' she yelled at him in an extremely high-pitched voice, louder than she had intended. As they realised how loud she was, noise spilled back into each of their ears, like ripples on the lake, the laughter, the music, the loss of conversation, the jeering yells at them. Both of the faces went scarlet in seconds.

'We need to talk… alone' Hermione whispered to Ron

'BOO!!'

'NO WAY GRANGER! YOU'RE NOT LEAVING THIS COMMON ROOM!'

'BARRICADE THE EXITS!'

'KISS AGAIN!'

'GIVE US A SHOW!'

'THIS IS AS MUCH OUR BUSINESS AS IT IS YOURS!!' some people called idiotically from the crowd. Ron and Hermione looked straight on at the people watching, taking in the expressions once more. Harry's and Ginny's were almost identical looks of shock and grief, Lavender's face had tear stains running off of either cheek, her face red under her layers of pale make-up and rosy blusher. Seamus' eyes looked overjoyed at the events along with Dean grinning foolishly beside Ginny.

Hermione took Ron's hand intertwining their fingers and dragged him headlong towards the portrait hole. She had to knock several people aside as she lunged at the back of the portrait and practically dived through the small hole, Ron falling after her.

Ginny walked over to Harry abandoning Dean, all of them looking stunned.

'Did they just…?' Ginny asked quietly, falling onto the sofa beside Harry

'I think they did' Harry told her, neither took their eyes off of where Hermione and Ron had just been standing.

'They didn't, did they?' Ginny asked

'You don't think they're actually considering…?' Harry asked

'No, surely not… they wouldn't…' Ginny said unconvincingly. Both of them looked at each other suddenly

'They're getting back together!' they chorused in a sudden epiphany.

'We have to stop them!' Ginny ordered

'They CANNOT do this again!' Harry agreed

'You take Ron?' Ginny suggested, Harry nodded

'And you take Hermione'

'Now?' Ginny asked

'Now!' the pair stood up and marched towards the exit of the common room.

'GINNY!' dean called after her, but she wasn't listening. She was a girl on a mission.

Harry and Ginny marched quickly through the corridors side by side, not talking to each other or even looking at each other. They checked every room they come across, eventually finding a door locked from the inside. They couldn't hear anything inside and began pounding on the door with their fists clenched.

'HERMIONE! RON! LET US IN! NOW!' Ginny shouted at the wood

'WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! COME OUT!' Harry added, they continued pounding the wood for a few minutes before eventually a lock clicked on the opposite side and Hermione's small face appeared around the frame.

'We need to talk. RIGHT NOW!' Ginny ordered pushing the door open and pulling her out by the collar to another room. Harry walked into the room Hermione had opened and locked the door behind him.

'RON?!' he called 'where are you hiding!?'

'Who died?' Ron asked from a desk in plain sight of Harry.

'What the HELL was that?!' Harry demanded.

'A kiss' Ron said sarcastically

'I KNOW IT WAS A KISS!' Harry exploded 'WHY WAS THERE A KISS?! THERE SHOULD BE NO KISSING!!'

'Why not?' Ron asked now angered 'I love Hermione!'

'YOU SAID THAT LAST TIME!' Harry informed him loudly in disbelief

'It's different' Ron said calming down suddenly

'GARGLING GRINDYLOWS! IT COULDN'T BE MORE SIMILAR IF IT WAS CLONED!' Harry yelled

'This time we've been through it all.' Ron told him, he seemed strangely vulnerable 'we can learn from last time'

'And the 3 times before that' Harry added clearly exasperated

'2 times! We've only been out 2 times! AND it has been different problems each time' Ron argued

'Ron are you nuts?!' Harry asked 'the first time, you broke up because you both changed and acted like jerks towards each other! The second time you broke up AGAIN because you both changed and ended up HATING each other!'

'There's more to it than-' Ron tried to interrupt

'AND CAN I REMIND YOU, GINNY AND I WERE FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN YOU BOTH EACH TIME AND NEXT TIME YOU DO IT YOU'RE BOTH GOING TO END UP ALONE BECAUSE GINNY AND I AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT! AND WE HAVE BIGGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT! OR HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT VOLDEMORT IS BACK?!' Harry yelled at him

'OF COURSE I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN! THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN US GETTING ON EACH OTHERS NERVES!' Ron screamed right in Harry's face

'THEN TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED RON!' Harry demanded feeling Ron's breath hit his own hot face

'Over my dead body' Ron said sourly pushing past Harry and unlocking the door. He flung it open and almost ran out of the room slamming the door with a thunderous boom behind him.

x.X.x With Hermione and Ginny x.X.x

Ginny let go of Hermione's collar, and locked the door.

'Muffliato' she muttered pointing her wand at the door

'Ginny, what the hell was that?' Hermione asked, rubbing the back of her neck

'Sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to hurt you, but I had to get you away from Ron.' Ginny told her calmly

'You're talking as if Ron's a murderer or something' Hermione laughed

'Hermione, this isn't a joke. Are you thinking straight? I mean you and Ron… you're not thinking of getting back together are you?' Ginny pleaded

'What if we are Ginny?' Hermione asked suddenly offended 'what's it to you what we do?'

'NO! Hermione, please don't. As your friend and Ron's little sister, please listen. You don't do each other any good. All you do is hurt each other and everyone around you, over and over and over again.'

'Ginny, out of everyone I've ever met, I know _you_ of _all_ people know what it's like to love someone. With all your heart.' Hermione said, Ginny fell silent 'if that's how I feel about Ron, can you honestly blame me for just _trying_ to make this work? It doesn't matter to me if it takes 3 tries or 300. I love him, I want to spend my life with him, grow up and get married to him, have children maybe, I want to be your sister in law and your children's aunt. And I can't think of anyone better to be a father to my children than Ron, and I can't think of better aunts and uncles than you and your brothers.'

'Hermione you're 16!' Ginny informed her dismissively

'Yeah but next year I'm an adult in your world!'

'That doesn't mean you have to get married and have children straight away!' Ginny told her

'But how long will I have after it Ginny? We know what's coming; we know we're all in danger with Voldemort back - DON'T GASP! - Harry has a huge battle ahead of him and we all have to help him through it, but what if it's the last thing we do?' Hermione cried

'You can't think like that Hermione!' Ginny ordered her 'how are we supposed to _help_ him when you're thinking like that? And how are we meant to _help_ him when you and Ron are tearing each other apart? You said it last year, the one thing we have that Voldemort doesn't-!'

'Love' Hermione finished her sentence 'but if you ask me not to try this with Ron then how am I meant to use love? RON is my love, if not forever then for now and I want to create some memories to carry with me. Whether it's to teach me, make me stronger or just to remind me that Ron is like you say: no good for me.'

'What about all the other times you've been with Ron?' Ginny asked 'you always get so hurt, _both of you_ and I don't want to see you or my brother like that'

'I don't care if I get hurt. Maybe then I can get over Ron?' Hermione suggested

'But Hermione, like I just said, both of you get hurt, if you don't care about hurting yourself; maybe you'll worry about hurting my brother?'

'Well I'm not going to be trying to h-' Hermione protested.

'I'm not saying you are' Ginny told her 'but what if you don't mean to do it, but do it anyway by mistake?'

'Then I apologise and tell him the truth'

'And what if Ron doesn't listen? Or doesn't want to hear it? He hurts you more, and he hurts himself more'

'Well what do you want me to say Ginny? Yes it's a possibility, a risk even. But it's a risk I'm willing to take. And that's with or without friends behind me, though it would obviously be better with support'

'What I want you to say Hermione, is that you'll think about it, you wont go on impulse but you'll sleep on it; make sure you know what you want this time.' Ginny pleaded

'Fine, I'll sleep on it, but I am certain about this.' Hermione gave in. Ginny, thinking of nothing else to say gave in too and settled with their almost negotiation. Ginny left the room followed eventually by Hermione.

As Hermione left the room she collided with someone in the corridor, she looked up as she fell to the ground, it was Ron. He was red with rage but helped Hermione up.

'Harry giving you a hard time?' Hermione asked him sincerely

'No, I'm giving him a hard time' Ron corrected her 'but he did try to talk me out of going out with you. I'm guessing Ginny done the same?'

'A little more successfully I'm guessing.' Hermione briefed, they both stood in silence, 'well I guess it's … almost us against the world' she added


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_He was inches from her face, getting closer incredibly slowly; she couldn't help but feel nervous. The blackness around him didn't reflect on his freckly face but he seemed to glow flawlessly, his hair seeming like it was on fire with the light shining from his figure. They continued closing in on each other, wind whipping strands of his hair over his eyes, her own hair starting to block her vision too, she watched his eyes close gently and followed suit. Suddenly they stopped; she was out of her body and although the wind was still blowing, both faces were motionless in the total darkness. Hermione watched as she saw her own hair blowing in front of her face and Ron's in front of his, both pairs of eyes now closed, their lips were less than a centimetre apart when they had stopped and whether she'd get to kiss him she never knew, her vision, already away from her body was moving backwards, further away from herself and the man she loved. Eventually they faded from her view and her body seemed to writhe and fall into the darkness below her, like stepping over a cliff face._

Hermione woke up to find someone standing over her bed; she jolted into a sitting position and saw that it was Ginny.

'Ginny what the hell?!' Hermione said, still shaken. Ginny blushed, Hermione looked around the room, it was dark and the others were still asleep. 'What time is it?'

'3 am' Ginny told her simply, 'Harry and Dean had a fight, Harry's in the hospital wing!'

'They had a fight at 3 am?' Hermione complained sleepily, she paused and had a realisation. 'Wait, hospital wing? Is Harry okay?'

'He's been knocked out, and Madame Pomfrey can't get him to wake up' Ginny said 'Ron sent me his patronus and I went down to meet him in the common room. Are you coming or not?'

'Let me change then' Hermione retorted 'I'll meet you there'

'Just put on your dressing gown! Come on!' Ginny told her, Hermione looked at Ginny; she hadn't noticed she was still in her nightie and slightly small fluffy pink dressing gown, with matching slippers.

'Fine' Hermione said grabbing her own maroon dressing gown from the end of her four poster. She threw her legs out of bed and was immediately stung by the cold. She slipped her feet into the closest pair of shoes, unsure of where she had put her slippers, these happened to be her school ones. She threw her arms into the dressing gowns sleeves as she followed Ginny from the room.

Soon they reached the hospital wing, now awake from the cold in the hallways. Ginny pushed open the door and they went inside, there was a huddle of people around one of the beds in the far left corner of the dormitory.

'Close the door, he's cold enough as it is' Madame Pomfrey told them sternly. Both girls walked in and Hermione closed the door behind her. They looked over at the crowd of people around the bed, now seeing who they were: Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Ron, Madame Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore. The girls joined everyone at the bed side; Harry was white in the bed in front of them. Ginny took hold of Dean obviously for comfort at the site. He took hold of her back and Ron went red with anger again.

'Ginevra Weasley! Get your hands off of him!' Ron ordered, Ginny ignored him 'GINEVRA WEASLEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM NOW!! RIGHT NOW!!! NOW GOD DAMMIT! I SAID GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF THE BOY WHO DONE THIS TO HARRY!!'

'Mr Weasley control your language' McGonagall told him sternly, Ron looked at her, obviously he'd forgotten about the teachers being there. Dean urged Ginny to let him go to avoid any arguments. Everyone fell silent as Madame Pomfrey started scuttling around the bed, checking Harry's pulse and temperature, she eventually withdrew back to the place she had been standing before, her eyes on the large clock on the opposite wall.

'Any improvements Poppy?' Professor Dumbledore asked

'Not yet' she told him, 'but I will check again in two minutes, then I'll know what, if anything I can do to wake him up. Otherwise he'll wake in his own time' she added quickly to not worry the children.

Ron looked away from Dean and Ginny who were now standing almost a metre from each other and cast his eyes on Hermione's small form. She wasn't wearing any make-up but her face seemed to be more radiant than usual, the tie on her dressing gown had been forgotten and her gown hung open allowing her royal blue pyjamas to be seen below it. They were silk and consisted of a long vest top that flowed over her figure perfectly and a pair of reasonably short shorts that were only just in sight from under her vest top but were high enough to show off most of her elongated thighs, as she was wearing her slightly high heeled school shoes. Suddenly Hermione turned her head and spotted him. At the notice of his expression Hermione blushed hugely and though flattered suddenly felt very uncomfortable and exposed, she done up her dressing gown tightly. It still showed her hourglass shape as she tightened the belt around her waist but her body beneath was now a mystery to the wondering eye.

'Can somebody tell me what happened?' Ginny asked, oblivious

'Ah, something I'd like to know too' Dumbledore added 'so, who would like to fill us in?' everyone fixed their eyes on Dean

'It's a bit of a long story' he told them reluctantly

'I'll draw up some chairs' Dumbledore told them, and he sketched the outline of several rather small armchairs in the air and they appeared before them all, cluttering the space they had but nobody complained as they sunk into the comfy chairs.

'so lets get this long story started, anyone who wants to leave can of course leave whenever they like' Dumbledore told everyone casting his blue eyes over each member of the group, everyone finished settling into their various arm chairs and dean began:

'Well… it started at the celebration party…

_**~FlAsHbAcK~**_

_Harry climbed back through the portrait hole anger still boiling inside him from his conversation with Ron, he noticed neither Ron, Hermione or Ginny were still in the common room. He didn't yet feel like going to bed as he hadn't yet had a chance to enjoy the party and didn't feel like risking the chance of Ron being awake in their dorm. He went to get a drink from the table of food he had collected from the kitchens. It had been topped up excessively clearly by an older student as there was something called Firewhiskey in the collection of drinks. Harry poured a glass subtly, willing to try something new especially as he felt he couldn't stand any of the other drinks that he has on a regular basis. He sat alone at the fire again, and took his first sip of the drink, the taste immediately hit him, it was originally sweet but soon turned to a strong but pleasurable flavour in his mouth. He had already finished the first glass of this by the time somebody entered the common room. It was Ginny. He hid his second glass of firewhiskey from her as she may have recognised it but she only briefly looked over to him and didn't come over to tell him what happened. Instead she headed straight towards the girl's staircase. She however was diverted by Dean who tried to talk to her; eventually she managed to sweep him aside and continued up the stairs._

_Dean came towards Harry moments later with a fight in his eyes._

'_what did you do to Ginny?' he asked madly, Harry for the first time realised how the drink had affected him as he only just managed to make a sound recognisable as_

'_Huh?'_

'He must have been drinking alcohol or something' Dean explained

'_You went off with Ginny and she comes back all tired and tense and stuff' Dean told him sharply, Harry shrugged clumsily spilling his drink slightly over the floor 'if you laid a single finger on her…!'_

'_I was with Won' Harry stumbled 'Gin was with Moony' he managed to pull it off as if he was just tired._

'_If you're lying, you're dead potter.' Dean threatened 'and go to bed'_

'_Soon' Harry said dismissively as he began to inspect his shoe laces with passionate interest._

'So not long later I went to bed, Harry was still downstairs' Dean told Dumbledore in particular, as Madame Pomfrey checked on Harry's temperature and pulse for the final time and cut in

'we're going to have to wait for him to wake I'm afraid.' she said apologetically 'if he has been drinking alcohol like you suspect then he may get ill if I use medicines anyway'

'Harry doesn't drink' Hermione told them all thoughtfully

'even so, we can't be sure' McGonagall said 'and if he is found to have been drinking, he will be in for some serious consequences' the kids all exchanged glances, unsure what to think of Harry and how much they aught to tell of the story.

_Later when Dean had finished changing and had been laying in bed for a while, now staring at the ceiling Harry swung open the door, drink still in his hand, probably his 5th or 6th by this time, and started dancing about the room. Ron and Neville were both also in bed by this time but were supposedly in a deep sleep. Harry eventually started singing as if no-one was watching, Neville stirred in his sleep, slowly waking up and watching Harry's dance with Dean. It took Harry half an hour to realise anyone else was in the room and suddenly in a middle of a rather elaborate twirl he stared intently at Dean. He walked towards him clumsily, his glass was now completely empty from drinking and spilling the contents but it seemed to give him an extra level of clumsiness._

'_You go out with Ginny' Harry told him sadly, lying his chin on the side of Dean's bed 'Ginny's pretty'_

'_Yeah. I know' Dean told him thoroughly annoyed, Harry looked up at him, shocked at the sound of his voice as if he hadn't realised he was there._

'_I! Hate! You!' Harry told him 'you stole Ginny from me!!'_

'_Oh really, Harry?' Dean asked sarcastically_

'_YOU STOLE HER!!!' Harry screamed at him, inches from his face now_

'_She was never yours Potter!' Dean told him sourly_

'SHE WAS ALWAYS MINE!' Harry yelled, Ron suddenly stirred in his sleep and rose to consciousness. Dean leapt out of his bed ready to take on Harry. They both braced themselves, but in Harry's case clumsily, for a fight.


	4. Chapter 4 quite short sorry :S

**Chapter 4**

"_They both braced themselves, but in Harry's case clumsily, for a fight."_

_Dean in his rage threw the first punch, his wand still on his bedside table laying forgotten in the cold. He hit Harry right beside the eye, thrashing his fist directly below his temple. Harry stumbled backwards, now drunk and concussed. His legs span out below him slightly kicking the air. Suddenly one of his feet caught behind Dean's knee forcing him too to crash onto the floor._

'I fell on my arm, look' Dean told Madame Pomfrey, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, he rolled up his sleeve and revealed a large graze on the side of his right wrist.

_Neville let out a gasp and threw his legs out of bed ready to stop them fighting if they tried to carry on_

'_What are they doing?' tired Ron asked Neville who was watching, wondering what to do._

'_fighting over Ginny' Neville told him, the boys got to their feet slowly, both now looking clumsy_

'_THEY WHAT?!' Ron yelled throwing his legs out of bed too. The two fighting boys ignored the others in the room,_

'that's when I woke up' Seamus announced to the room

_Harry lunged idiotically towards Dean managing only to meet their foreheads in midair again making each of them stumbled backwards._

'he was fighting like a Rhino or something' Dean added slightly jokingly.

_Next time Harry lunged at Dean he managed to make a full punch directly to Dean's nose,_

'_I WANT GINNY BACK!' Harry yelled then planting another punch into Dean's stomach in his encouragement but Dean managed to punch Harry a couple more times in retaliation_

'and then' Dean continued 'Ron shot a spell at us, it hit the back of Harry's head, straight on; it knocked him cold… and that was the end of it' Ginny gasped and Hermione turned to face Ron, she had the feeling that it wasn't a complete accident.

'well that wasn't such a long story' Dumbledore said merrily 'however I would like to see each of you in the morning, separately, starting with Mr Weasley at noon. I will of course be asking Harry to also tell his tale as soon as he is fit enough to do so. For now however, I think you should all visit your beds,' The group departed, a lot of them reluctantly but the teachers made it clear there was no choice as they wanted to discuss what they had heard.

Hermione walked with Ginny not sure whether she wanted to face the uncomfortable atmosphere that would be created if she spoke to Ron but wanted to know what he had to say for himself. Luckily Ginny made up her mind for her as she marched towards Ron and span him around, Hermione following her

'explain yourself!' she ordered him 'how could you do that to your best friend?!'

'well for one thing he was attacking your boyfriend, and secondly Harry and I are NOT friends!'

'Ron are you an idiot?! The back of the head?! YOU COULD'VE KILLED HIM!' She yelled. He opened his mouth to protest again but Ginny cut him off 'No Ron, we don't want to hear it, when Harry wakes up he better be okay and if he is or if he isn't you best apologise to him!' Ginny stormed off away from her brother,

'Was it an acci-' Hermione began

'no talking you two, you haven't slept on this properly yet 'Mione, remember, you promised me!'

'I guess I should go sleep on it then' Hermione said jokingly as she followed Ginny away with a half-hearted smile at Ron as she passed.

© Later that morning ©

Hermione woke up from a dreamless sleep and watched the ceiling above her head, she had never been more confused about Ron. She rolled over groggily to face her watch on her bedside table: 11:30. She had lost half of her day. Then the thought struck her: Ron had to see Dumbledore in half an hour, she wanted to wish him luck before he went. She climbed out of bed and dressed, piling layers of clothes one on top of the other, she wasn't sure why but she still felt very insecure about Ron seeing her figure after the way he looked at her last night.

She had never felt insecure about Ron before, in any way, whether it was talking to him, him looking at her, or vice versa, they used to share everything and she thought she knew everything about him. But last night… her world seemed to overturn, there was nothing extraordinary about it, Harry liked his sister, Ron got mad, extra mad, it was late at night and he's the laziest person on earth. But even though Hermione wasn't entirely surprised that he had acted the way he did, she was extremely shocked that he still didn't feel remorse for what he had done to their best friend… had he changed?


	5. Chapter 5

Once she had piled on enough layers of clothes she made her way down to the common room. Ginny was sitting in the armchair by the fire looking half asleep. Ron was sitting on the sofa with the other boys from their dormitory, Ron was being completely ignored and was sat staring into the flames.

'Woah 'Mione, you would think it was winter with the amount of clothes you're wearing!' Ginny exclaimed, making Hermione blush

'has anyone been down to see Harry this morning?' she asked

'Dean and I tried earlier but Madame Pomfrey said she couldn't let us in yet' Ginny told Hermione

'oh, well do you want to try again now? It's almost noon' Hermione suggested, Ginny stood up in order to agree she turned to Ron awkwardly, 'if we're not back before you go, good luck with Dumbledore, Ronald. Try not to get yourself expelled or anything.' Hermione knew she was stupid to have said that, she looked at Ron as his face drained of blood. Without apologising she fled the room with Ginny who had Dean's jacket on, it made her look small as if she was back in her first year.

'so had a change of heart about Ron? Or not?' Ginny asked trying to keep the conversation casual, Hermione never answered as she wasn't sure how to and both of them fell silent until they reached the only dormitory in the school that both boys and girls could stay in; the hospital wing.

They tried the door to find it was locked and so knocked instead. There was some rummaging around somewhere behind the door and it soon opened slightly, Madame Pomfrey appeared in the gap.

'Can we see Harry?' Hermione and Ginny asked

'sorry, he already has a visitor' she told them, Ginny and Hermione exchanged glances

'another visitor?' Hermione asked considering who was in the common room

'who?' Ginny asked, cutting to the chase.

'Professor Dumbledore'

'Does that mean Harry's awake?' Ginny asked hopefully

'yes, he woke up about an hour ago but he needs to rest, he's not in the best state' Madame Pomfrey told them

'what do you mean?' Ginny inquired again,

'I'm afraid I can't discuss any further with you now, Professor Dumbledore has to give me permission to tell you all and Harry too, now that he is conscious. And either way - I cannot tell you through the door. You can come back to visit in an hour or two-although I will only allow two people at a time' Ginny and Hermione accepted the idea and turned away, ready to tell the others the news.

Soon they were clambering through the portrait hole again, the boys looked over at them not expecting any news other than being turned away and continued with their conversation. Ginny went other to them and hugged Dean from behind excitedly,

'what have I done to deserve that?' he asked

'_**you **_haven't done _**anything**_, _**you**_ don't deserve it but I wanted to hug _**someone**_!' she told him sternly

'w-' he began

'shut up you two, can't you see Hermione has something to say?' Ron told them. They looked around, Hermione was now stood in front of the fireplace with her hands on both hips but a grin plastered over her face. Ginny grinned back at her knowing what she was going to tell the guys. Dean turned around to face Hermione slightly more with an almost identical look of confusion as the other boys were wearing.

'thank you, Ronald' Hermione began, still grinning, she had temporarily forgotten her insecurities 'I-We wanted to tell you that we have new news on Harry - be quiet so I can tell you then guys!' Hermione ordered as the guys burst out with questions 'he's woken up, and he's not in a good condition, but he has been talking to Dumbledore this morning so when you all go to see him make sure you tell the complete truth! Actually, thinking about it, Ronald you need to see Dumbledore in just under 10 minutes, it'll take you at least five to get to his office, if you run so I think you better go - now!' Ron got up as ordered, not wanting to cross Hermione on a day that was undoubtedly going to be very emotional. They watched as he left the common room before the guys burst out with more questions as the girls repeated what Madame Pomfrey had told them several times.

Eventually the boys fell silent and the conversation moved towards something a lot more social, about three quarters of an hour passed before Ron climbed back into the common room, his face looking hollow and dug-out. Ginny was the first to take serious notice, as his little sister, even if she does pretend not to care about him.

'Ron, you look terrible what happened?' she asked jumping up and going to hug him.

'nothing, that's the thing' he said

'what?' Dean asked

'he listened and he never yelled, he just stared and nodded, and never said anything, then when I was done he said he'd talk to me again later… and I had to go. It's scary… seriously. And Dean - he wants to talk to you now, good luck mate' Ron said quickly like he was reliving it or getting his ideas together. Soon everybody but Ron was laughing at Ron's fearfulness, and Dean had left to see Dumbledore for himself.

One by one people left and came back, none as scared as Ron. Finally it was Ginny's turn. Hermione had just came back, happy with herself and clearly had not been at all affected, and hadn't had points taken from Gryffindor either. Ginny left the common room quickly, hoping that she like Hermione would be in the clear since she hadn't been there at the time. She however, unlike Hermione had a secret, she had been talking to Dean and he had told her more of what had happened. Nothing significant but enough to change things for the better or the worse. She also knew that the whole argument had been based on her.

Soon she reached Dumbledore's office and before she could even open her mouth to talk, the Pheonix jumped to one side of the wall allowing her onto the moving staircase inside. Nervously she began to pursue it's top step. She stepped off of the staircase and knocked on Dumbledore's office door quietly.

'Come in Miss Weasley, I did send for you after all


	6. Chapter 6

Ginny opened the door to Dumbledore's office slowly and entered. She kept her eyes on the ground until she reached his desk.

'have a seat' he said, she did as she was told and then chanced a look up at Dumbledore, who was smiling at her reassuringly. She relaxed. 'Miss Weasley I have been told many versions of this story today, and of course only this morning in the hospital wing as well. Although these versions have all been in the smallest ways different, many details have stayed the same throughout. I know and believe that you were not there when the fight had been going on and so can only give me limited details, however each of your friends have agreed or in Miss Granger's case suspected that the argument _**was**_ about you. Do you disagree that it could be?'

'no sir. In fact, I have been told myself that it was about me by all of the boys individually. Apart from Harry of course.' Dumbledore nodded

'Are you willing to tell me what you know, or have heard from the others? In addition to this morning's information.' Ginny took a deep breath

'yes sir.' she agreed 'Most of the details have stayed the same but firstly, when I walked past Harry earlier that night to go up to bed, he had a drink in his hands and although he tried to hide it I saw the colour, and I think it may have been firewhiskey, that's why I avoided talking to him before bed. I probably should have done, to stop him drinking more but I decided I was too tired to deal with any consequences it may have caused, whether he was aggressive or just hyper. When I walked past though Dean immediately sprung on me loads of questions about where I had been, but I was annoyed about him treating me like a child and decided not to answer. So all he knew was that I was with Harry. I could've done loads to stop this fight from happening but I never done even one.' Ginny told him guiltily 'after this I had went to bed and of course never heard anything until Ron's patronus woke me up. Of course you know the story that I went to get Hermione then joined you all in the hospital wing and heard the story; but when we left after returning to the common room I pulled Dean to one side to talk to him…' Ginny paused but decided it was best to continue with what she was saying as she had started and anyway, it'd get Harry the treatment he needed 'Dean told me more about the argument. Harry had had several punches to the head, and so had Dean. But as Ron woke up and Neville updated him on what was happening, Dean was hit in the head again and fell backwards, but this time he saw his wand on the side and decided to grab it. To defend himself, and as Ron cast a spell, Dean cast one as well but Dean doesn't think anybody really noticed, I don't know what he told you. But it means Harry was actually hit in the back of the head and in the chest. And I could've stopped it.'

'Miss Weasley, I must insist that you could not have done anything of the sort and what these boys did was completely of their own accord, you mustn't feel guilty about it.' Dumbledore told her warmly

'anything is possible sir and it could have made a big difference' Ginny told him firmly

'yes, I believe that myself Miss Weasley, but unless you tell me that you had a vision or a divination ball then I do not expect you to have ever been able to make a difference in this particular matter. And I do not believe that you have planned for it to happen and twisted fate in this way. However if this is the case then feel free to speak up as I already have two divination teachers in this school, one being a centaur and they may need some help occasionally. Now, did you have such a vision?'

'no sir' Ginny admitted truthfully.

'All the same, your information this afternoon has been useful and I must thank you for being honest. I will talk to you and all of your friends together later on today once I have conversed with Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. It may also interest you to know that Madame Pomfrey will allow you all to visit Mr Potter in no more than twos from now until dinner. You may go.' Ginny got up and left the office sensibly but as she reached the corridors below the office she ran full pelt through the grounds back to the common room where they arranged to see Harry in pairs. Dean agreed to go first to apologise to Harry and although Hermione and Ginny prompted Ron to do the same he rejected the suggestion and so Ginny went with Dean instead.

As they reached the hospital wing they knocked on the door Madame Pomfrey opened the door and quickly scuttled away calling back to them.

'I hope there's no more than two of you. If Potter tells you to leave you must go but be quiet when talking I'm trying to tend to others' She reached the drawn curtain and disappeared behind it. Ginny and Dean exchanged a look of wondering at who may be behind the curtain but headed for the one that was around Harry's bed. Ginny poked her head around first, a huge grin over her face, but she never went in immediately, instead she waited for Harry to see her. He looked up at the rustling sound to see Ginny's face and attempted to grin back. She suddenly noticed burns on his face, cuts and bruises that were barely shadows in the night's candle light.

'Oh my gosh, Harry!' she gasped, her grin falling and entering the cubicle made by the curtains. Dean followed her in, making Harry's grin drop too. Ginny knelt beside Harry's bed and put a hand on the side of his face, one finger tracing the most pronounced cut on his face, a long wound that went from his hairline to the centre of his cheek, Ginny's mouth hung open ever so slightly at the sight. He winced slightly

'sorry Harry' Ginny apologised, removing her hand quickly.

'no, it's okay.' he said, 'does it really look that bad?'

'this was my fault' Ginny whimpered almost silently, she fell lower to her knees, until her heels met with her bottom. Dean came around and put a hand on her shoulder

'it doesn't look that bad, man.' he told Harry, 'look I'm really sorry' but Harry wasn't listening, instead he was looking at Ginny, he put his hand out to touch her face and her head shot up to look at him again.

'it's not your fault, Gin' he told her firmly

'Hello! I was _trying_ to apologise here' Dean interrupted, this time getting both of their attentions. Ginny pulled away from Harry's hand and stood up to hug Dean tightly for reassurance.

'it's alright' Harry said, annoyed as Ginny's face was suddenly missing from his fingertips, he hated him more for that than all of the cuts that he had caused on his face. 'I was the one drinking, it was me that caused the fight, it was me that caused myself to be like this' Dean never bothered to retaliate, but forced a small smile to Harry before pulling Ginny into a tighter hug before letting her pull away entirely to sit by Harry's bed on the nearby chair, but she chose to sit on the bed itself, allowing Dean to have the seat.

'how did you get burns on your face, Harry?' Ginny asked confusedly

'well it was probably something to do with the spell as well, but mainly they're grazes from the stone in our dormitory.' he told her 'but don't worry, Madame Pomfrey will fix me easily' At this Ginny unexpectedly burst into tears, shocking both Harry and Dean. Dean however hopped up from his stool, faster than Harry could reach her, and hugged her until she calmed down.

'I'm sorry' she whimpered, 'I just can't convince myself that it wasn't my fault… I broke Harry!'

'um…maybe, we should go.' Dean suggested, looking apologetically at Harry, who was annoyed but disliked Ginny crying so near to him without him being able to do anything so nodded.

'sure.' he agreed

'we'll visit again when Ginny calms down if we're allowed, or tomorrow, if you're not out yet.' he told him 'Again, I'm really sorry.'

'Bye Harry' Ginny said, 'I'm really sorry too' with that they both left, Harry never needed to reply to either because they continued in a conversation about how it wasn't Ginny's fault immediately which continued till the large bang of a closing door echoed loudly around the silent room.

x.X.x Outside the hospital wing x.X.x

Dean shut the door behind them and turned to see Ron and Hermione approaching, Hermione wore a fierce look of fury on her face, while Ron looked childishly sulky.

'honestly Ronald, if you don't come in now then I'm not coming back with you later!' Hermione was telling him from almost an entire staircase above; neither of the couple heading down the stairs had seen Ginny or Dean yet but they were watching them walk down moodily towards them in complete disbelief at the abruptness. Suddenly Hermione turned, flicking her hair behind her and saw Ginny, standing with Dean, still with red eyes and wet cheeks. Hermione sped up, rushing to the bottom of the staircase.

'what's wrong? Has something happened? How's Harry?' Hermione said fearfully, Dean looked at her sternly,

'nothing's wrong. Harry is _**fine**_, but Ginny got a bit overwhelmed and so we left' he told her sharply. Hermione pulled Ginny into a friendly hug, which Ginny never returned.

'what's going on with Ron now?' Ginny asked as Hermione pulled away

'well he's still refusing to apologise to Harry, I can't _**believe **_he'd do this to his best friend and not feel sorry about it! I asked him to walk me down to the hospital wing anyway and he can decide when we got here if he was coming in or not, and I've tried persuading him but it's just impossible!' she complained, Ron joined them at the bottom of the staircase

'Harry is no longer my best friend, and Ginny get _**away**_ from the person who caused all this!' he ordered

'RON! I CAUSED THIS! IT WAS _**MY **_FAULT!' Ginny shouted and ran off up the stairs before anybody could stop her

'Oh thanks a lot Ron, that made it _**loads**_ better' Hermione told him 'and I don't know how you can say that he caused this when it was _**you**_ who cast that spell!'

'it was _**HIM**_ that asked out my sister, and it was _**HIM**_ that beat up Harry, and _**HE**_ cast a spell too! Directly into Harry's chest'

'What?' Hermione said shocked looking between the two boys, but suddenly she shook her head, 'forget it, be like children, but I want one or both of you to explain this to me later, I'm going to see Harry whether you come in or not Ronald' Hermione marched towards the door and went inside.


	7. Chapter 7

In the hospital wing Hermione stopped just inside the door, and watched it swing shut behind her, Ron disappearing from view in the gap. She bit her lip wondering whether she should see if Ron was going to follow or wait. So she stood there for a mere 10 seconds longer then with overwhelming disappointment, she headed to Harry's bedside.

'Hello Harry' Hermione said poking her head around the curtain. 'Can I come in?'

'Of course,' Harry grinned, 'hi, Hermione' Hermione did as Harry had told her to, and sat down in the chair by the bed, Harry looked confused. 'Is it only you? Am I so terrible that nobody else wanted to come?' he asked jokingly, Hermione forced a smile and a shaky laugh,

'Don't be silly' she said, 'they're simply a bit busy. Seamus and Neville will be down later, and Ron will…' she trailed off, Harry nodded.

'Is he _that _annoyed with me?'

'no.' Hermione lied, 'he's just a bit on edge… I haven't told him if I will go out with him or not yet either. He's annoyed with me and Dean… _and_ you, but only a bit. He's inconsolable but I'm sure, under it all, he's just worried about whether he's hurt you'

'No,' Harry disagreed 'under it all I think he's probably wondering how or when I even started to like Ginny.'

'maybe that too' she said, looking down.

'what are you thinking of telling him about starting a relationship again?' Harry asked her seriously.

'I don't know' she said sadly, no longer attempting to look jovial 'he's being such a child, and I'm wondering if he's changed. But I love him, Harry, I _really_ do and I don't know how he feels.'

'then if you're not sure Hermione, please don't date him, not yet at least.' Harry pleaded

'why not?' Hermione asked

'because we need to stay strong as a team to defeat Voldemort.' Harry said simply, 'I can't do this alone, I need you _both_' Hermione nodded

'I know. But how long can I hold off if I know I love him?' asked Hermione seriously 'I'm scared in case I lose him or that this is my last shot at happiness.'

'but you can wait until you're certain you want to be with him?' Harry suggested sensibly, 'when you know that you like him and that nothing… or everything, if that's what you're waiting for, has changed. Please?' Hermione looked down

'of course. But I don't know how long that'll be, it could be within days, or it could be months. Will you support me when I decide what I want though? You and Ginny seem to hate the idea, and that's not going to make us any stronger as a team.'

'Of course. If you're certain its what you want and that you're happy then of course I'll support you' Harry said, 'but if you go out with him just because he's acting like a child, as you put it, then I'm not going to support you because you're not going to last like that'

'thank you, but the lecture is unnecessary Harry,' Hermione said suddenly annoyed 'you haven't exactly been too successful in relationships either, I'll have you remember, and last night you were plain irresponsible.' Harry looked down at his knees, he had touched a nerve and he knew it. Hermione didn't stop there, 'what do you think you were doing drinking alcohol, Harry? And _in school _of all places? You are going to be in so much trouble. This isn't school rules, this is the law, in the Muggle and Wizarding worlds! And McGonagall has already got the punishments lined out in her mind by the sounds of it.'

'OK, I get it Hermione, it was dumb. I'm ready to take the punishment but lets face it, it's not like I'm getting off easy even without McGonagall's punishment.' he said, pointing to the deep cuts over his face. She nodded slightly. Seconds later the curtain was drawn back that separated Harry's bed from the rest of the hospital wing, Hermione looked over her shoulder hoping to see that Ron had returned. He hadn't. Instead she turned to see Seamus Finnigan grinning at them.

'how you doin' Harry, mate?' he said cheerfully, 'don't you think you've had him for long enough Hermione? I think it's Neville's and my turn now… where's Ron?'

'he didn't come in' Hermione blushed, thinking of what she had told Harry and how they now seemed like lies.

'ah, that makes sense then. I though' it was funny that Madame Pomfrey would le' three people in bu' no' four.' Seamus said 'd'ya think Neville and I can have a bi' of banter time with our mate now?'

'sure' Hermione said, 'I'll see you later Harry' she smiled and left.

As Hermione left the hospital wing she was surprised to see not only Neville standing there but also Draco Malfoy, she hovered in the doorway temporarily unnoticed

'Personally I hope it's Mudblood' Malfoy sneered 'she done everybody a favour when she was petrified in our second year, shame it wasn't a bit more… permanent' Neville looked ready to pounce at Draco, he opened his mouth shakily ready to make his stand against Malfoy but Hermione's anger bubbled over faster. Within seconds she had launched herself at him and was pulling his hair, bending his neck backwards so his knees buckled and his eyes met hers, upside down, with her free hand she whipped her wand onto his neck.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you Malfoy' she said 'but I can tell you now, that I'm in perfectly top form.'

'Granger, you no good mudblood!' he snarled at her threateningly, she pulled his hair a little tighter so Malfoy let out an involuntary whimper as his knees bent slightly more 'I'm gunna get you for this!'

'I very much doubt that, this isn't the first time you've whimpered in my presence, Malfoy.' she said just as threateningly, 'Neville, you can go see… Bolt, now if you'd like. This ferret is leaving.' Hermione let go of Draco's hair and removed her wand, Draco immediately took the opportunity and, tripping as his knees continued to fail beneath him after such a strain he legged it down the corridor. Neville grinned,

'that's not something you'd see everyday' Neville said 'I _was_ about to say something by the way, I wasn't letting it slide, what he called you'

'I know, I saw' Hermione said, 'thanks Neville, I'm going to catch up on my studying, Seamus and Harry are waiting for you by the way, Ron's not in there.'

Neville looked shocked for a moment before nodding,

'alright thanks' he said, and they both departed in their separate directions.

After being in the library for half an hour Hermione moved onto her Charms homework and noticed that her notes didn't make sense, so without further pause for thought she headed downstairs to his classroom to check her instructions with Professor Flitwick himself. This took yet another ten minutes to clear up, so Hermione left Flitwick's classroom in a hurry to get back to work. Until she saw something that made her freeze on the spot. She had not yet made it to the door of the classroom however she was alone in her experience as Professor Flitwick had used the door at the back of the class room for a faster way to reach his office. Just outside of the classroom door, Hermione saw two figures walk by, Lavender holding onto Ron's arm and leaning in on him happily, Ron ruffled his hair, his head still bowed, hiding his face from Hermione's view. However it was undoubtedly him; he had the same clothes on: the same chudley cannons jumper and the same pair of jeans with the ripped hem on the back pocket and his hands were even the same shade of red as they always were. Hermione's heart felt like it was physically ripping in two as the sight disappeared from her line of vision.

_**x.X.x Meanwhile x.X.x**_

Ron watched Hermione enter the Hospital wing and looked toward Dean angrily.

'what?' Dean asked

'You turned Harry against me, you turned Hermione against me, you turned _my sister_ against me and you're taking _none_ of the responsibility for what happened last night' Ron said 'that's _what _Dean! If I get expelled I'm taking you down with me and you'll never be able to see my sister again'

'and who'll stop me from contacting Ginny?' Dean asked equally angry now

'everyone' Ron said simply 'My parents wont let her within a hundred yards of somebody who gets expelled from Hogwarts.'

'wow, rough time for you then' Dean said sarcastically 'you'd have to move out and everything.'

'It'll be a brand new low even for your family' it wasn't Dean or Ron who spoke here, but a voice, from behind a nearby wall. As the boys span around Draco Malfoy came out into sight followed by Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise Zabini. 'even your twin brothers weren't expelled. The good for nothings!' Draco continued 'Maybe you'll be disowned! I'd love to see that when it happens, or maybe your poor mixed up father will be _proud _of you for being a failure. I wouldn't put it beneath hi-' Draco never got to finish his rant, as at that moment Ron flung himself at him, seizing him around the neck and shaking him like paper, the Slytherins seemed unsure of what to do as they edged towards Ron but Draco's flailing arms caused them to back away quickly to avoid being hit. Eventually it got too risky and Dean leapt on Ron to separate them both. Draco's face was a mild purple colour from the suffocation and Ron's was red from the rage, as if he were about to lunge again, this time for more disastrous results; instead he shook his arms free of Dean's grasp, and pushed past the Slytherins in anger. Around the corner he slowed his pace to overhear the conversation that they were having now. There were footsteps heading up the staircase, most likely Dean's -that git-, and Pansy's high-pitched voice echoed down the hall.

'Draco, are you okay? Sit down and breathe! He needs water, lets go get him some wa- what was that Draco? Sorry I can't understand you, rest for a moment before you try to talk'

'JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!' Draco's slightly croaked voice echoed through the hall after Ron loudly, and moments later the Slytherins passed Ron again, not wanting another confrontation.

Ron headed for the quidditch pitch, he found it deserted just as he was hoping and headed up to the very top of the stands. Suddenly, he started to kick the legs of one of the chairs roughly, and finally threw himself backwards into the one behind him, leaning back and ran his hand through his hair. He looked down towards the pitch.

_Horror! _He tried to duck and hide behind the row of chairs ahead of him, but the racket he caused had already caused her to look up into the stands. Had she seen him? Ron stuck his head between two of the seats in front of him. _Double horror! _She was heading his way. Still laying flat on the floor Ron pulled himself along the stone trying to get away. He was three seats away from the end of the row, two seats, one seat. His head was free from her sight, his chest was out of sight, his entire torso, his knees. _Triple horror! _Somebody tapped on his shoe.

'Ron?' the girl's voice asked 'what on earth are you doing down there?' Ron sat up,

'I… fell over' Ron said gruffly looking up at the girl. She offered him her hand and he, ignoring her, got up using the arm rest of the chair the top half of his body had almost successfully managed to hide behind -Stupid long legs-.

'are you okay?' she asked, 'If you're not I can take you up to the hospital wing, or help you back to your room to rest'

'I'm fine' Ron said annoyed, although he liked the idea of getting away from Lavender there was undeniably not even a small part of him that wanted to enter the hospital wing with _her_ there, and he definitely, _definitely_ didn't want Lavender Brown in _his_ room. She may just never leave again. Lavender shrugged,

'alright' she said sadly, 'well I'll sit with you for a while, just to make certain'

'no need' Ron said,

'I insist'

'I insist harder!' he practically yelled at her

'no!' Lavender squealed in an unnecessarily high-pitched shout 'I insist harder!' Ron flinched and gave in 'now sit down' she told him softly. Ron did as Lavender said, and she sat herself in the seat beside him, squashing herself into the closest corner of the chair to Ron, then put her hand on the arm rest that Ron was already using so her hand was on top of his.

Ron, unsure of what exactly to do about this sort of situation, simply removed his hand from beneath hers and proceeded to itch his neck with it. He then moved slightly over to the opposite side of his own chair to stay farther away from Lavender and leant on the opposite arm rest. All the while he tried to think quickly about escape routes and excuses of where he could go that she couldn't. Suddenly a thought of Hermione popped into his mind, every time when they used to go out together and Ron would cause an argument or a spectacle of another kind, Hermione would use the excuse that she had to go to the bathroom, and would linger there long enough for Ron to calm himself.

'I… umm…' Ron said, wondering if this would work. 'need to go to the bathroom' Ron got up and Lavender stood up too, Ron looked shocked. 'I don't need you coming with me!' he said,

'I wont go in with you silly!' Lavender said 'you can do that on your own. But after falling over you may be dizzy walking down all these stairs.'

'Really, Lavender, I'd much prefer it if you just waited here.' Lavender seemed to give in, and sat back down in her seat. Ron headed for the stairs down to the pitch and headed to the nearest bathroom, fearing she'd somehow know if he hadn't been there first. He closed the door to the toilets and breathed a sigh of relief, at least she wouldn't follow him in here. He began to look frantically for an escape hatch of some kind, nothing. He headed to the sinks and looked at the mirrors, waiting before he had to go back outside to the monster. Maybe he'd be able to sneak away without her seeing him leave the bathroom. Suddenly a thought struck him, looking at the taps.

'Tsya hassiheth' Ron hissed, copying Harry's Parseltongue as best he could. Nothing happened. 'damn. Worth a try' he said to himself sulkily. Ron took a moment to cool off before leaving the bathrooms, hoping to run off before Lavender missed him. Ron opened the door and closed it quietly behind him, as it was a heavy door and if slammed could be heard from the quidditch pitch, Ron turned on his heel ready to run in the opposite direction when something, or rather someone caught his eye. Lavender was standing just a couple of steps from the bathroom door.

'What are you doing here?' Ron asked, 'you said you'd wait in the stands'

'Ron, I just _had_ to tell you something, I just remembered!' Lavender all but squealed at Ron,

"_Please let her say she has a club to go to, or had homework to finish"_ Ron thought hopefully,

'Susan Bones wanted me to pass on a message to you!' she said excitedly, Ron's hope faded 'she says half of the Hufflepuff house started chanting _'Weasley is our king'_ last night! She wanted me to tell you that you done _really _well in the Ravenclaw verses Gryffindor quidditch match yesterday.' Lavender grinned from ear to ear and Ron's ego inflated slightly at the idea of it causing him to smile slightly back.

'Maybe you could pass the message on saying I said thanks?' Ron suggested, hoping she'd think to go immediately, either way he was coming up with a new plan in his mind.

'OK, I will.' Lavender grinned,

'I've got to go' Ron said, throwing caution to the wind at the sight of Lavender's expression,

'Why?'

'Umm.. potion- I've got an essay to finish' Ron created,

'Can I help?'

'no.' Ron said quickly, Lavender looked offended 'you don't do the lesson.' Ron added quickly. Lavender looked down at her feet and shuffled them slightly,

'Well I'll walk you up to get your books' she suggested, 'in case you get dizzy or something from your fall' This was slowly becoming the worst lie Ron had ever told. Suddenly Lavender walked forward and took hold of Ron's bicep with both hands, leaning into him and they began their walk awkwardly, particularly in Ron's case, towards Gryffindor tower.

Neither of them said anything until they had reached the first floor of the castle, the tension between them seemed to increase with every step they took together, and Lavender was still attached to Ron's arm.

'So how is Harry today?' Lavender asked, in a desperate attempt at conversation

'Huh?' Ron asked, 'why?'

'I-I heard about what happened in your dormitory last night. When your sister came to tell Hermione that there had been a fight and Harry was in the hospital wing, she woke me up at the same time by mistake.' Lavender admitted

'Oh… umm, well Harry is - Harry's awake' Ron said, reporting the only news that he had heard all day on his wellbeing 'he _had_ been knocked out…'

'I'm sorry if this is painful to talk about' Lavender said, misinterpreting Ron's limited information

'it's not' Ron said, surprised that Lavender had read into the situation in this way.

'Well then, maybe you'd _like_ to talk about it?' Lavender offered 'I'll listen'

'No thanks' Ron said, 'if anything I'd prefer to be alone' No such luck, Lavender was sticking around for as long as possible.

'it's not healthy to keep it bottled up inside' Lavender told him, her face changed from a smile to a look of deep concern for Ron's wellbeing, it reminded him of Hermione.

'I'll talk about it when I'm ready' Ron lied

'well I'll be here when you're ready then' Lavender offered, the smile now returning to her face.

After this the pair stopped talking again, the tension slowly increasing once more, Ron's thoughts had been brought back to Hermione by Lavender's expression. Did she want to be with him? Ron's hope on that matter had been slowly fading ever since their kiss itself.

'Ron? Ron?' Lavender was saying, Ron hadn't noticed that she had been trying to attract his attention, 'did you hit your head when you fell or something? Can you hear me?'

'sorry' he muttered, 'I was thinking about… this essay that I need to do.'

'really?' Lavender said, she had opened her mouth to finish with a word of acceptance but Ron had cut across her already.

'yeah, and who are you to question my thoughts?' he asked indignantly

'I-I-I'm not Ron' Lavender said, shocked, but yet still latched to Ron's arm to stop him from running off 'sorry'

'yeah you were and don't deny it Hermione! just give me some space to think my own thoughts and go to the bathroom when I want. You've been doing it since the quidditch pitch!' Ron said, then stopped, realising the name he had said. Had be become so accustomed to arguing with Hermione that he didn't naturally assume he'd be arguing with anyone else? Or was it just a slip of the tongue, taken from his previous thought process? Lavender looked as if she was questioning the name switch too. He tried to walk faster in an attempt to gain some space between them, momentarily forgetting Lavender was still gripping his arm. In result of this he ended up tripping her up several steps toward the second floor.

'I'm called Lavender, Ron' she said, smiling slightly, 'but I know you knew that really. Don't worry.' Lavender placed her cheek onto Ron's shoulder for a moment then pulled away to talk again. 'are there problems between you two?' She seemed to think the answer was yes and was using this slow of momentum to try to win Ron over.

'uh, no' Ron said, 'I was just thinking of Hermione and the great conversation we had last night. Sorry' Ron felt on fire today, he had thought quickly so many times today to lie to Lavender.

'Okay' Lavender replied slowly, she made it clear that she never believed him. Again she nestled her cheek onto Ron's shoulder, smiling slightly and Ron reached up with his spare hand and ruffled his hair in irritation.

Five more floors and he'd be free of this maniac. Hopefully.


End file.
